Review Major Rivers of the World with three differentiated, print-and-go crossword puzzles for Grades 5–6. The Easy, Medium and Hard levels use clear, factual clues, so you can give every student the right amount of challenge, and each puzzle is followed by a complete teacher answer key. Students practice 32 key terms in all, from Nile and Amazon to Alluvial.

What students practice

• Easy (10 answers, word bank): Nile, Amazon, Mississippi, Yangtze, Ganges, Danube, Volga, Congo, Mekong, Rhine. Sample clues: Nile (Long African river that flows north into the Mediterranean Sea); Amazon (South American river with the greatest discharge of water); Mississippi (Major river of the central United States that empties into the Gulf of Mexico); Yangtze (Longest river in Asia; flows through China to the East China Sea).
• Medium (10 answers, word bank): Euphrates, Tigris, Indus, Niger, Murray, Yellow, Orinoco, Parana, Seine, Brahmaputra. Sample clues: Euphrates (West Asian river that joins the Tigris before reaching the Persian Gulf); Tigris (River of ancient Mesopotamia that flows through modern Iraq); Indus (River of South Asia that flows through Pakistan to the Arabian Sea); Niger (West African river that forms a large inland delta before reaching the Atlantic).
• Hard (12 answers, no word bank): Delta, Tributary, Source, Mouth, Estuary, Watershed, Floodplain, Meander, Oxbow, Headwaters, Discharge, Alluvial. Sample clues: Delta (Fan-shaped landform of sediment built where a river enters a quiet body of water); Tributary (A smaller stream or river that flows into a larger river); Source (The place where a river begins); Mouth (The place where a river empties into a sea, lake, or larger river).
• Reading each clue carefully, spelling place names and geography terms correctly, and fitting answers into the grid (spaces are omitted in multi-word answers)

What’s included (6 pages)

• Easy crossword (1 page): grid, Across and Down clues, and a word bank, with Name / Date / Class lines
• Easy answer key (1 page): the solved grid with all 10 answers, numbered by clue
• Medium crossword (1 page): grid, Across and Down clues, and a word bank, with Name / Date / Class lines
• Medium answer key (1 page): the solved grid with all 10 answers, numbered by clue
• Hard crossword (1 page): grid, Across and Down clues (no word bank, for extra challenge), with Name / Date / Class lines
• Hard answer key (1 page): the solved grid with all 12 answers, numbered by clue

How to use it in class

1. Pick a level for each student or group: Easy and Medium include a word bank, Hard does not.
2. Print the puzzle pages (the answer key follows each puzzle, so keep those pages for yourself).
3. Use it as a warm-up, independent practice, a geography center, homework, sub plans or a review before a quiz on Major Rivers of the World.
4. Check answers quickly with the solved grids, then discuss any terms students found tricky.

At a glance

• Grades: 5–6
• Subject: Social Studies (Geography)
• Pages: 6 (3 puzzles + 3 answer keys)
• Format: Printable PDF, US Letter (8.5 × 11 in); instant digital download after purchase